But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth ... (John 15:26)

Many of the pentecostal and charismatic churches place entirely too much emphasis on the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Holy Spirit seems the only part of the triune God some of these churches pay attention to. In their worship, their preaching and their faith, they nearly abandon God the Father and Christ the Son in favor of the Spirit, to the point where Christian faith is reduced to a mere matter of what makes you feel good by the "Spirit." Without the doctrine and discipline of God the Father and Christ the Son, many of the so-called "spirit-filled" churches end up with a very sloppy theology which is self-serving and unbiblical to its core.

On the liberal hand, many other churches place entirely too little emphasis on the Holy Spirit. God the Father and Christ the Son are the only parts of God they pay attention to and they nearly leave the Spirit out altogether. Their religion is just a "head trip," a set of intellectual propositions, rather than an experience of knowing and living with God. The plain fact is, you can't know God the Father or Christ the Son without experiencing the Holy Spirit, yet many churches have badly neglected the true place of the Holy Spirit.

Both types of churches share one thing in common: they both assume that the Holy Spirit is only for certain people.

The charismatic churches often try to put rules and restrictions on the Spirit - you only have the Spirit if you speak in tongues or get excited and wave your arms in church; you only possess the Spirit if you have a certain kind of "born again" experience. This usually leads to a feeling of spiritual superiority, as if to say "I have the Holy Spirit and you don't."

On the other hand, some of the more liberal churches tend to be indifferent to the Spirit, or they have a feeling of spiritual inferiority. They assume the Holy Spirit is reserved for other people who are blessed with greater spiritual gifts. It's as if they downgrade themselves as second-class Christians and say, "That kind of experience of God just isn't meant for me."

My friends, the Holy Spirit belongs to God and not to us. The Holy Spirit is part of God and is therefore not subject to the limitations we try to place on God. So, what about the Holy Spirit? What should we say about Her on this Pentecost Sunday?

We should say first of all that the Holy Spirit is more than just a feeling. Many Christians are confused about this today. For example, you may feel shivers go up your spine when you hear a beautiful Christian song, but that isn't necessarily the Holy Spirit you are feeling. After all, you can get shivers up your spine at a rock concert or a Puccini opera, depending on your musical taste. No, the Holy Spirit is something more than a good feeling, even an inspiring feeling. In our text this morning, Jesus calls Her "the Spirit of truth." The Holy Spirit is as much in the head as in the heart and soul.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit is not limited to certain kinds of Christians. That's another message in our text, as Jesus speaks to His disciples, preparing to leave them and go to heaven.

Have you ever said to yourself, "I wish I had lived in Jesus' time, so I could see Him in the flesh, hear His voice and feel the touch of His hand. I wish I had lived in Jesus' time so that He would be even more real to me than He is today."

That's pretty much how the disciples felt - they didn't want Jesus to go away. But Jesus said to them, "It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor, [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you!" So long as Jesus was in the flesh, He was available only to those few thousand people who happened to have access to Him in person. But once He ascended to His Father and the Holy Spirit came, then this same Jesus could be everywhere and available to everyone.

That is why it is also to our advantage that Jesus has left this world and the Holy Spirit has taken His place, because now the Holy Spirit is here for everyone and not just those fortunate few who can claim a special proximity to the Lord, Jesus Christ.

And finally, the manifestations of the Spirit cannot be limited to certain dramatic signs or spiritual gifts. Again, the Holy Spirit belongs to God and not to us, so none of us can dictate terms and say that unless you speak in tongues, or get healed or "get happy" in church, you don't have the Holy Spirit.

It's true that when the Holy Spirit first came to the church at Pentecost, She came with signs and wonders. There was the sound of a rushing wind and tongues of fire and people speaking in languages they had never spoken before. Elsewhere in the New Testament, there are other places where the Holy Spirit came with the power of healing or the gift of speaking in tongues.

But, some Christians read those few passages of the New Testament and decide that this is all the Holy Spirit is! They want to draw lines around God's Spirit as if to claim Her for themselves. They're not reading the rest of the Scriptures.

There are other places in the New Testament where the Holy Spirit comes with the gift of teaching. Peter and Apollos and Phillip and many others receive the Spirit and begin to teach - they speak clearly and understandably so that other people may know the gospel. This is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

There are places in the New Testament where the Holy Spirit means patience and strength through trial and suffering. There are places where the Holy Spirit means simply that someone has a solid faith which is an inspiration to others. In some places in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit comes before baptism, and in other places, after baptism. There is simply no way anyone can put rules and boundaries around the Holy Spirit, who is free because She is part of a soverign God.

Paul makes this very clear in his famous passage from 1 Corinthians: "There are varieties of gifts," he says, "but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord" (12:4-5). One person has the gift of the wisdom, another has knowledge with which to teach and someone else has the gift of healing. (Way down at the end of Paul's list is speaking in tongues.) The Holy Spirit, like Jesus, is God's gift of Himself. She is here for everyone and shows Herself in many different ways.

This means that the Holy Spirit is here for each of you. The Holy Spirit is everywhere for you and is in you right now. Do you believe the Holy Spirit is in you and in this church? Before you say "no," think about all it can mean.

When Jesus speaks of the Spirit in our text, He uses the name "Counselor." A counselor is someone who guides you, especially in the ways of right and wrong. More particularly, a counselor helps you to do the good you already know you should do.

In one of our confirmation classes, the young people were talking about some of the unpopular kids in school. It doesn't matter why these other kids were ostracized - it may be their race, a physical handicap, being overweight or a "nerd" - the reason is unimportant. What matters is that a good number of our young people are not afraid to be seen with these kids. Their friends ask them, "Why do you hang around with So-and-so; nobody likes being with her?", but our young people do it anyway.

This innate sense of goodness and compassion - later on, a passion for justice and righteousness - this is a sign of the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, and She is present in our church.

Another word for Counselor is "Comforter." The Holy Spirit is a Comforter and don't we know it! Don't we know it in the church, when terrible and tragic circumstances strike!

Sometimes those tragedies come in bunches, because "when it rains, it pours." I remember a time in a church I was serving when we gathered to celebrate four Christian funerals in a space of ten days and three of those funerals were for persons who were less than thirty years old. The people there "bore their griefs and carried their sorrows" (Isaiah 53:4) with quiet dignity and grace. The Comforter of whom Jesus spoke was with them. This, too, is a sign of the Holy Spirit, a sign of Her presence in the church.

When Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit, that we may know where the Holy Spirit is present; he doesn't talk about pride or boastfulness or being sure of your faith or knowing chapter and verse of Scripture. Paul simply says that the signs of the Spirit are these: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22). Live in these qualities and you live with God and the Holy Spirit lives in you.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit is the quiet strength of a faithful heart and sometimes She is the rush of a mighty wind. But She is here with us: our Comforter, our Counselor, the Spirit of truth. She is in Jesus Christ and in our almighty God, and will never leave us forsaken. God's Holy Spirit will abide with us now and always, even to the end of the age. Amen

Pastoral Prayer

Ever-faithful God, who is Guide and Protector to the church of Your people, we pray today with thankful hearts for the gift of your Holy Spirit. Open our hearts to Her warmth and joy. Open our minds to Her power and purpose. Open our ears to Your Word and our eyes to Your mighty deeds, that we may know the Spirit among us and share Her love with others.

O Righteous God, Lord of all worlds, we pray as well on this Pentecost Sunday for Your living Spirit over all the earth. Let the Spirit of peace descend upon us all, that the wars and violence and bloodshed soon may cease. Let the Spirit of justice flow through the earth like a mighty stream and blow through the air like a mighty wind, that this may yet be a world with which You are pleased. Through Jesus Christ, our Counselor, we pray. Amen